Unashamed Desire
by Holz090
Summary: Written for a friend. Carchelle.
1. Chapter 1

__I'm only writing this because someone made me. And because I felt I needed to get over my fear of writing a certain type of story and just throw myself into it. It all started with a daydream as I walked to co-op one evening, listening to the Missy Higgins song of the title.

This will probably be about 2 or 3 chapters long, depending on a few things.

* * *

_Empty all my pockets and take what you like;_

_Empty all my pockets if you like. _

_I've got nothing to hide._

"Well, you may as well go for the hat trick." Michelle wriggled teasingly closer to the woman she felt as if she'd known all her life. She grazed the edges of her own glass with her teeth, a seductive grin on her face.

Carla felt a slight shudder travel through her at Michelle's use of that word. The last time she'd heard it spoken she'd been terrified, frozen in fear as he pushed her against the railings of the factory she'd spent years building up, just for him to steal it from under her nose. But she couldn't think of that now, and Michelle certainly didn't need to know the content of that conversation, so she swiped a clump of hair from her face and grinned back, mirroring the other woman's position as she drew her closer. "Well," she almost whispered, "it'd be rude not to really, don't you think?"

"Mmm" Michelle smiled, taking Carla's glass from her and placing it on the table in front of them. Just as he'd done that day, that day he'd finally reeled her in. For fuck's sake; she needed to get him out of her head.

Her bare arm squeaked slightly against the leather of Michelle's sofa as Carla adjusted her position, tucking one leg underneath her so she was now facing her head on. She licked her lips, although she wasn't entirely sure why, and her eyes fell to her knees, coyly, her chin turned inwards. Michelle noticed this, using one finger to pull her friend's head upwards again. She spoke softly. "Hey. We don't have to do this if you don't want to."

Her eyes were so warm and inviting, her tone so soothing, and Carla felt her heart melt as she was overcome by a feeling of love for this woman who'd been nothing short of a life saver to her over the last few months. Without saying a word, Carla leant in and placed a gentle, brief kiss on her friend's lips. She could still taste the faint remnant of red wine, mixed with something else she couldn't quite work out.

"Chelle…" She pulled away slightly in mock confusion. "Are you wearing… Cola lip balm?"

Michelle laughed, a childlike amusement filling her face. "Why, do you like it?"

"Y'know what, I do." She leaned back towards her, whispering now. "I might have to borrow some tomorrow!"

They both chuckled now, and for a moment there was just stillness as each appreciated the other. Then, slowly, Michelle undid the first few buttons of Carla's blouse; gently, slowly, her fingers caressing the fine material. For a moment Carla hesitated, before leaning closer still and placing a second kiss on Michelle's lips. She would definitely have to steal this lip balm.

She left the buttons now, giving her full attention to reciprocating her former sister-in-law's advances. Her skin felt soft against hers, her lips cold from the glass. She took her time to savor the moment, partly for herself and partly because she was all too aware that this was likely a bigger thing for the other woman than for her. For obvious reasons she'd not enquired as to how much… confidence, that her friend had managed to regain when it came to being intimate, and anyway, this was a whole new ball game.

What struck Carla most as her lips grazed this woman's was how strangely comfortable she felt. She'd expected it to feel alien to her, somehow different and strange, but there was none of that. Her hand almost unconsciously wandered round to Michelle's lower back, her other hand almost grabbing her by her shoulders. She was overcome by a feeling she hadn't truly felt since that terrible night, and one that she'd feared she'd never be able to allow herself to feel again. She wanted her.

Michelle noted the change in pace, but rather than doing what she wanted to and grabbing her with both hands, she instead pulled back slightly, pushing the other woman away just an inch. "Are you sure?" She asked in a hushed tone, slightly out of breath.

"Stop asking me that" Carla replied, a slight snappiness in her voice. She was so done with playing the wounded victim. Carla put both arms around her friend's shoulders now, pushing one side of her baggy top off her shoulder.

Michelle took this as a green light, meeting her half way as they both leaned in for a kiss. Using both hands this time, she tugged at her friend's buttons, a little rougher than previously, whilst still taking care not to tear the thin fabric: Maria had told her about the torn shoulders.

"I'm not made of glass, you know". Carla had clearly noticed Michelle's hesitation.

"No… I know. I just…"

Carla brought a manicured finger to Michelle's mouth. "Don't be." She wriggled closer still to her, taking a moment to just enjoy the warmth and the closeness, before allowing her blouse to fall delicately from her shoulders.

Noting the delicate, red lace bra the woman was wearing; Michelle felt an odd pang of jealousy at the knowledge that she had not been its intended audience, yet at the same time felt rather smug that she'd got there first.

"What?" Carla furrowed her eyebrows, one side of her mouth dropping in that way that Michelle had always loved.

"Nothing…" she answered, removing her own top, which she noted fell to the floor with none of the elegance of her friend's.

"Ok…" Carla replied, as though stifling a girly giggle. "So, where were we?"


	2. Chapter 2

__**Tiny update, but I need to sleep and it'll make more sense if the third part is longer. **

**This has crossed into some rather trippy, AU territory,which is pretty new on me, but bare with it if you will. **

**Thanks for the all the reviews for the first part. **

* * *

_Cut open my heart and turn on the light, _

_Cut open my heartache if you like. _

_I've got nothing to hide._

They lay curled up for a long while, Carla spooning Michelle, holding her, clinging to her. Michelle gripped Carla's arms as they wrapped around her, stroking her smooth skin with one thumb. Skin to skin, they were so close they almost merged; absorbed the other in some strange but wonderful way.

Michelle could feel Carla's soft breaths against the back of her neck, feel her heart beating against her back. The pace of her heart rate strangely soothed her: It was calm, relaxed; not sped up in fear or anxiety as she'd feared it would be.

Only when she felt completely assured that she was ok to do so, did Michelle turn around to face her: so close now their noses almost touched. They said nothing at first, before, almost in synch, they both burst into simultaneous giggles, throwing their arms around each other and forming a warm embrace.

"What are we even doing?" Carla asked through girly giggles.

"I dunno!" the other woman replied, but without pulling away or communicating any desire to.

"It feels good, though".

"Yeah, yeah it does."

The door buzzer abruptly interrupted the moment, ringing at what seemed like five times its normal volume as it cut through the silence.

"Leave it!" Carla teased, pulling Michelle back towards her.

"I can't, it might be urgent!" She replied, gently freeing herself and reaching for the dressing gown on the bedroom door. "I'll get rid of them".

Carla sighed and threw herself against the bed like a frustrated teenager.

Michelle half-ran to the receiver, still giggling to herself as she picked it up. "Yep?"

"Hiya Michelle, it's Peter. Is Carla there?"

In the bedroom, Carla looked confused. It was only then that she noticed her phone on the floor where she'd thrown it earlier. 5 missed calls. _Shit. _She signaled to Michelle to buzz to him up, scanning the floor for her clothes.

"Alright 'Chelle, love? Oh… sorry, did I wake you?" Peter was visibly confused as reached the top of the stairs and caught sight of Michelle in her dressing gown.

"Oh uh, no". She replied, unsure of what she should be saying. Had she technically just been caught in bed with another man's girl?

As Carla emerged from the bedroom, still buttoning up her blouse, Peter's jaw practically dropped to the floor in shock. She wasn't sure why she wasn't trying to hide what had happened – whatever that was exactly, but somehow it felt wrong to.

"Uh…" Peter looked dumbfounded as his eyes switched between his girlfriend and her former sister-in-law, trying to register what was going on. Michelle bit her lip, giving Carla an awkward look. Carla grinned, before walking over to Michelle and draping her arms around her shoulders from behind. Maybe it was the 3 bottles of wine they'd drunk between them, but she felt suddenly confident and slightly giddy.

"This is a dream, right?" Peter floundered, clueless as to how to respond.

The two women merely smiled as Michelle reached up to hold Carla's hand. "We were just wondering the same thing" she said, not entirely sure why her tone of voice was so flirty.

"Right…"

Carla laughed loudly now, bringing one arm down from Michelle's shoulders and stretching it to Peter. "But hey, if it is a dream, we'd best make a good one before the alarm goes off, 'ey?" She grinned. "You don't mind, do you 'Chelle?"

"What the hell?" She grinned back. "This isn't real, right?"

Peter hesitated for several seconds before slowly, reluctantly reaching out one hand to his girlfriend. She slipped off his jacket, throwing it casually across the room to Michelle's sofa, where it landed in a crumpled heap over one arm. "Good", she smiled, leading him back into the bedroom as Michelle followed from behind.


	3. Chapter 3

__**I'm so far out of my comfort zone with this that I probably should have created another account, just for this one fic. **

**Anyway. This may or may not be the final instalment, depending on a number of factors. **

**Thanks again for all the reviews - they've basically stopped me deleting this and kept me writing! **

* * *

_We get one sweet moment in the arms of youth  
I don't wanna waste time holding down the truth  
I've got everything to win and only pain to lose.  
This is my  
Unashamed desire  
_

They stood at the edge of the bed for a moment, a silent negotiation in progress. "Right, so…how is this gonna work then?" Peter was the first to break the silence, and Michelle couldn't help but roll her eyes in a subtle way she hoped he wouldn't notice.

"Well," she started, taking a protective step towards Carla. "The way I see it, I was here first". She put her arms around the other woman's neck, her head rested on the soft bed of that stunning black mane as it fell down past her shoulders.

"Oh, really?" He asked, not entirely sure yet of the tone of the discussion. "Well may I just remind you whose bed she woke up in this morning?"

Carla turned her head to swivel back and forth between the two, feeling slightly uncomfortable for the first time that evening. Sitting down on the bed, she turned to face the two people she loved most in the world.

'_Just go with it' _She told herself, trying to block out that niggling sense of something, fear? Logic? Whatever it was, she didn't like the empty, raw feeling it caused in her stomach, or the way it caused her hand to tremble just slightly as she reached out both arms, pulling the two of them towards her.

"Eh, now come on" she grinned, hoping they wouldn't notice the tremor in her voice. "There's more than enough to go around!"

Without really understanding how it had come about, Peter found himself merely lying there at first, watching as two women who could easily pass as sisters gently pawed at each other, temporarily transfixed by the sheer energy in the room, forgetting for a moment that he was expected to join in. He didn't know where to go, what to do. It struck him how many men would happily kill to be in his position right now, and he berated himself for not making the most of it.

She must have sensed his anxiety, as the next thing he knew, the woman who wasn't his girlfriend (anymore) pulled him towards her, the softness of her skin temporarily taking his aback. He hadn't expected that, although he wasn't entirely sure why not.

He could feel his girlfriend's breath on the back of his neck and it felt strange to be this close, this sensual, and yet to be staring into the eyes of another woman.

She felt jealous. It took her a moment to realize it, but once it hit her, it hit like a brick. The woman she loved tore at the shirt of the man she loved. At the shirt she'd bought for him, on a shopping trip while _she _had minded the factory. It took a conscious effort to remind herself that she was in fact a part of this, and not merely an outsider looking in. To not feel a burning anger at the sight before her, as her boyfriend refamiliarised himself with the inside of her former-step sister and his former girlfriend's mouth: As his rough, chapped lips thrashed against those smooth, delicate lips that no longer had the traces of cola lip balm.

… This was weird.

She slithered across the bed, her leg deliberately brushing up against her boyfriend's thigh as though reminded him she was still in the room. When she reached the opposite end, she put her hands around Michelle's neck, a little tighter than before, pulling her head back slightly and gently kissing her neck. She twisted her necklace around her fingers, running her other hand teasingly over Michelle's left breast. She was trying to distract her, to pull her away from this man, yet simultaneously trying to attract the man's attention.

'_He hasn't even looked at me for ages_'

'_I bet he's always fancied her' _

'_She was just using me to get to him'_

Thoughts she knew to be insane raced through her head as still the two remained entwined. Her stomach literally hurt now, her head spinning and her blood boiling with jealous rage: There was only one thing for it. Using more force than was perhaps required, Carla literally pushed herself between the other two, turning to face her boyfriend and pulling apart the belt that Michelle had already started to undo. But rather than push her away, Michelle merely seemed to divert her attention, running her fingers over Carla's breasts, her warm breath causing her to shiver slightly as she thrusted herself against the man; inhaling the familiar scent of cigarette smoke as he kissed her neck.

He hoped she wouldn't feel the sheer speed of his heart rate as she pressed herself against him, then wondered whether it would really be a bad thing if she did. Then he decided that she was probably far more focused on other areas, and finally that he really needed to stop thinking and just enjoy the moment: In a matter of minutes, or certainly hours, this would be but a memory and he was certain that at least one of them would express regret or embarrassment and the evening would not be repeated.

Peter grinned to himself. 'After all,' he thought to himself, not sure or particular bothered whether he spoke the words out loud. 'This isn't real, right?'


End file.
